“With Governor Brown presenting his final January budget proposal today, it is a good time to reflect on the incredible fiscal turnaround in our state under his leadership. Seemingly insurmountable deficits and debt have been replaced by a real rainy day fund and billions of additional dollars of investments in our schools, our environment, disaster aid, and transportation, among many crucial efforts.

It is also no surprise that the Governor pointed out that we are overdue for a recession, and that such a downturn will bring real pain. State revenues are too dependent on one source, and long-term financial obligations remain. We also have so many areas that need more investment. But thanks to his leadership and the work of many legislators and advocates, we are much stronger than we were seven years ago.

My focus remains on housing. Last year the Legislature and Governor Brown delivered a historic package of bills to address California’s housing affordability crisis. That legislation directed additional resources to help struggling families, and incentivized and streamlined housing creation. The Governor’s budget includes $3 million to implement the housing package. I look forward to working with our Leadership and the Administration to ensure these resources are enough for a robust and effective implementation of the package.

While these investments made significant progress, we must continue to make housing a priority, and provide additional funding to help people struggling to find or afford housing or keep a roof over their heads at all.

I also applaud the Governor’s support of funding for the 2020 Census. Last year, I championed funding for Census planning and outreach, and I look forward to continuing discussions with the Governor and my colleagues. It is imperative that we count every Californian to preserve our democratic representation and to receive our fair share of federal funding.

As President Trump threatens the foundations of our democracy with every tweet, and policy-makers from Washington, D.C. continue to attack working families and hurt seniors and others, Governor Brown’s budget fights back to defend our most vulnerable residents. I stand with the Governor in protecting the progressive values we share as Californians.